I GOT REVENGE ON MY ABUSIVE EX

I Resisted

I fell asleep.

I fell asleep feeling safe, feeling calm, and with the voices in my head now silenced by the sound of the piano.

He crouched down beside the bed and gently touched me — I woke up with a start.

“What are you doing?” I asked, worried and paranoid.

“I came to bring you this. You haven’t been eating well and it’s a bit cold. You’re weak.”

“I’m fine.”

“Please, drink the hot chocolate. I thought you’d like it, so I... made it. You need some nourishment.”

He insisted, handing me one of the porcelain mugs I had seen in his collection.

“Isn’t this mug special to you?”

“It is...”

“Then?”

“There are more important things than mugs, Paola.”

“My car... what happened to it?”

“It’s downstairs in the garage. I parked it for you. You’re not a prisoner here, Paola... I just... wanted to help. You still haven’t told me about yourself.”

“And you haven’t told me how we’re here, alive and talking.”

“There’s a lot to take in. Give time some time. Would you prefer to see a doctor?”

I knew that if I saw a doctor, there would be too many questions, and maybe... I’d never leave that place again.

“NO!!!!!”

“Calm down, it’s okay. We won’t. How about some time for yourself, in the bathtub with nice hot water?”

“Ah... maybe you’re right.”

“Do you want me to stay with you, or would you prefer to be alone?”

“I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind. I left a robe, towels, and a few other things I thought you might need. They’re in the bathroom. And I’m just on the other side if you need me. Okay?”

I nodded as I sipped the hot chocolate, and he walked out.

---

When I got off the bus, he was there waiting for me. Serious, but with open arms.

“I missed you,” he said.

“Me too. Actually... I’ve been missing a lot.”

“Are you okay? You look worried.”

“It’s the exams and the course. Everything’s under control. But... you know, I hate lying to my dad.”

“Then I’ll talk to him.”

“You’ll talk to him, Pedro? Say what?”

“That we love each other, that you want to see me, and that I protect you and bring you home safely.”

“That we love each other?”

We had never said that phrase before. We had been together for four months.

Our routine was tough — his military life, my responsibilities, both of us in prep courses for college entrance exams. We only saw each other on weekends. But over time, he started being called in on weekends too, so I began skipping the course, school, and my prep classes just to spend time with him in secret.

---

I sank into the bathtub with my eyes open.

Without breathing, of course.

I thought... what if I didn’t wake up anymore?

What if I did the world a favor?

I stayed underwater, holding my breath as long as I could, until my nose began to bleed.

The blood mixed into the water and the pressure in my head was immense — from the outside in — as if it were about to implode.

I started breathing in the water.

It burned as it entered my airways, and in a desperate instinct my body begged to come up and breathe oxygen — I resisted.

I knew exactly how long it took for a person to actually drown.

I resisted.